


The Honk that Followed

by lionessvalenti



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Herded by an Angry Goose, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, First Meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-24 09:02:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16636940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionessvalenti/pseuds/lionessvalenti
Summary: When Jean hears the honking, she runs away. But that's apparently what the goose was counting on.





	The Honk that Followed

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Unforgotten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unforgotten/gifts).



Jean knew she was being followed. She could feel the sensation of being watched, the little tingle at the back of her neck, but when she turned around, no one was there.

"Are you _sure_ you don't sense it?" she asked, after turning around for the third time.

"No, but... " Scott hesitated, considering his words carefully. "You are the only one who's, you know, psychic."

"Telepathic," Jean said flatly. Psychic made it sounds like she was reading tarot cards in a musty basement. But she knew Scott didn't appreciate the difference. It wasn't his fault. Her gifts were complicated, and more powerful than even she realized. There was no way to expect him to get it.

They were no longer students, but not yet teachers. That was the goal, however. The loud outside world, with so many people and all their thoughts, too many to block out, even with the control she'd learned. The school was safer. It was a better place for her. 

Or at least she thought so until someone began following her.

That was when she heard the honking.

It was quiet at first, as if in the distance, but it was clear. It was a goose. It was a goose that had been following them across the grounds. There were occasionally ducks in the ponds, but not _geese_.

There was only one reason a goose would be on the school grounds.

Horror washed over her as she realized she was standing next to Scott. He was nice and she liked him because they were friends, but if what if the goose came up to _them?_ It would be a disaster. It couldn't be. If it was coming for him, he would have heard it too. As it was, his head was tilted in concern for her, because he clearly didn't know what was happening.

Even so, Jean did the only logical thing. She ran. She sputtered half-formed sentences to Scott, an apology, maybe, or some kind of explanation, but she was gone before any thought was completely articulated.

This couldn't be happening, not now. She was barely an adult. She wasn't supposed to have her soulmate herded to her now. Maybe in ten years. When she was ready for that kind of commitment.

Jean ran what felt like miles until she was sure she was no longer on the school property. She was in a dark thicket of forest, far away from the school, and the goose, and anyone who might look a little soulmate-y. She could hear birds chirping overhead, but there wasn't anymore honking. There was only her heart pumping loudly in her ears as she leaned against the a large tree to catch her breath.

The reality of it was, Jean knew she couldn't actually outrun the goose. She might have slipped away from it now, but it was going to get her no matter what. Who could it have been herding her toward?

She tried to recreate her surroundings in her mind, thinking about everyone she had been near when she heard the honking. Scott, yes, but it definitely wasn't him. There hadn't been anyone else close. But maybe they didn't have to be close. They were going to be herded after all.

"I can't believe you've gotten us so lost."

Jean started at the sudden words. She wasn't typically surprised by the presence of other people hearing their thoughts before their words came into focus. But those words were loud and clear.

She pressed herself up against the tree, as if that could hide her. Between the bright red of her hair, and the clean, stark white of her button-down shirt, she was possibly the least camouflaged thing in the woods. 

The honk that followed was louder, clearer. The goose wasn't just nearby, it was _there_. Jean hadn't needed to be herded after all. There was no nipping at her ankles as she was pushed toward a future out of her control. She'd run right into it. Had this been the goose's plan all along?

"I don't care if you have a job to do."

_Honk, honk, honk._

"Oh, well, that's fine. You're the most impertinent goose _I've_ ever met. Where did you get a thesaurus? What kind of goose uses words like impertinent?"

_Honk!_

"Now, that's just rude."

Slowly, Jean peered around the tree, and she caught sight of a girl. She was younger, maybe by two or three years, wearing a green flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and a pair of worn out looking jeans. Her long, dark hair was pulled over one shoulder, and there was a large, metal barrette holding it in place. The goose (larger than your average goose, which aren't small to begin with) walked at her side as she made her own path through the trees.

Jean had never seen this girl before in her life.There was no reason for this to surprise her so much, except that she knew all the students at the school. Maybe not all of them by name, but at least by sight. She hadn't run so far from the school.

The girl nor the goose seemed to be any actual threat, so Jean stepped away from the tree and into their line of sight. "Are you talking to that goose?"

The girl started, but before she could say anything, the goose went _wild_. It honked louder than ever, now at Jean's feet, biting at her legs forcing her closer to the girl. She winced in pain at the goose bit her calf hard enough to draw a little blood.

"Stop it!" The girl ran to Jean and scooped the goose up in her arms. It snapped at her ear, but seemed subdued from being held. "You've made your point."

"That's a soulmate goose, right?" Jean asked. "And..."

The girl nodded. "And we've just been herded." She shifted the goose to her left side, holding up against her hip like a baby. "I'm Nina."

"I'm Jean." She decided to pass over the herding part for the moment. If they _were_ soulmates, they would need to get to know each other. "You're a mutant, right? That's how you can talk to the goose?"

Nina's eyes widened. "You're not human, are you?"

Jean paused. There were several ways to take that, especially from the nervous tone Nina took on. She had spoken so confidently until that point. Though Jean had to admit, that she would have been nervous at the prospect of being herded toward a human, too.

"No, I'm a mutant."

Nina visibly relaxed. "Where am I? Where did you come from? This goose has been herding me for days."

"Days? You must be exhausted. Come on."

It turned out Jean hadn't actually run for miles. She'd made her way off school grounds, but just barely. It had seemed a lot further in her panic.

As they walked toward the school, the mansion visible the second they stepped out from the forest, Nina told her story.

"I've always been able to talk to animals. I never had that normal kid experience, but my father's a mutant, so it makes sense, I guess. After my mother died, he... got distant. We moved around a lot. When this goose showed up, telling me he had to take me to my soulmate, I laughed."

The goose honked indignantly.

She rolled her eyes and continued. "I'm only sixteen. Who gets a soulmate at sixteen? But he wouldn't leave me alone, honking all night, driving us both crazy -- my father was ready to strangle the thing, but I wouldn't let him -- until I finally set out. I thought he'd gotten us lost and then... you were there."

She said the last bit without sentiment, though she smiled.

"You don't have a bag," Jean said, just noticing.

Nina's smile turned sheepish. "I didn't think it would take so long. I've been eating off the land. Local animals know what's good, and they're happy to talk to anyone who will listen. But I could do with a shower. And maybe some pasta."

Jean laughed. "I can set you up with both."

Inside, Jean took Nina to her room. Since she graduated, she moved from the dormitory to a private suite. It was small, but she didn't need much more than what she already had. She directed Nina to the bathroom where she could shower, and gave her a run on anything in the closet. Nina was a bit sturdier built, but there shouldn't be much of Jean's she wouldn't fit into.

When Nina came out of the bathroom, ruffling her hair with a towel, she wore one of Jean's long floral dresses.The light from behind her caused a silhouette of her body through the gauzy fabric, and Jean nearly looked away.

"I should call my father," Nina said.

"There's a phone downstairs," Jean replied, sounding transparently breathless, though she was sure Nina could tell no difference (she was right). "And we can get your pasta."

She cooked while Nina talked quietly on the phone. Jean tried not to listen, to allow Nina's conversation to stay private (she didn't know of Jean's abilities and that made overhearing anything even more awkward), but she caught snippets of words, like _school_ and _nice_ , both said aloud and from the deeper parts of Nina's mind. She could feel the nervous energy pouring off of Nina, a combination of anxiety and excitement, with the tang of possibility.

"Hey, Jean?"

Shit. She had completely forgotten about Scott. She turned around, and he was carrying the soulmate goose, which she had also forgotten about and had been left roaming around the school during Nina's shower. Now that Jean and Nina were successfully herded, it seemed considerably less angry.

"What's going on?" he asked. He turned toward the strange girl on the phone, and his brows furrowed. He seemed to put two and two together and promptly dropped the goose. He all but threw it away from him. "Is that--?"

"Sorry," Jean said. "I heard the goose and... I panicked."

Scott's jaw dropped a little. "You didn't think that it was... I mean, you and me?"

"I didn't know what to think," she lied, because it was convenient that other people couldn't hear her thoughts. "That's Nina. Do you want some pasta?"

Nina finished up her phone call and the three of them sat around the counter with bowls of steaming pasta and marinara sauce from a jar. It wasn't exactly an _awkward_ silence, but one filled with people who didn't know what to say. The goose wandered around the kitchen, occasionally making a noise.

"So, uh..." Scott tried, but trailed off. He coughed. "Why is the goose still hanging around?"

"He's waiting for someone to herd," Nina said. "Usually they'd wander off by now, but... must be someone nearby. Not everyone is going to follow a goose through the woods for days to get here."

"How does it know? Where to go? Who to herd?" Jean asked. There were theories on soulmate geese, papers written on the subject, but no one had a concrete answer. Until Nina. She could just ask the goose, and listen to its response.

"Instinct," Nina replied. She stabbed a bowtie pasta with her fork and shoved it in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. She swallowed and said, "It's a mutation, you know. But for some reason, when geese mutate, they all have the same power. And a compulsion to use it, but geese are generally pretty single-minded. Be it food, or reproduction, or herding people to their soulmates. They do it loudly and don't stop until they've done it."

Jean nearly dropped her fork. She'd certainly heard that theory, but that was where it was always lost on her. No two mutants had exactly the same powers, so why would geese? But why would she expect geese and humanoid mutants to have the same response to mutation? They had a completely different genetic makeup.

"Why isn't anyone talking about this?"

Nina's face grew dark. "Why would they? Humans love soulmate geese. They think it's cute and they want to get herded. They would never try to contend their love of soulmate geese with their hatred of mutants. And even if they did, all it would result in is soulmate geese dead on a laboratory table as they dissected them, and tried to figure it all out. The geese already know what's happening the same we know that we're different."

The goose honked loudly, and Nina turned to smile at him.

"No one's going to get you. You're too ornery."

The honk that followed sounded oddly satisfied.

"And, um, the soulmate aspect, that's real, is it?" Jean asked. She and Nina had known each other barely an hour, but they had carefully danced around the subject of why and how they met. "I mean, are they always right?"

Nina shrugged with one shoulder. "I guess so? He didn't really explain to me how it works, but could you explain how your powers work to someone with a completely different set of skills? You could try, but would they fully understand?"

"No," Scott said softly, and shit, Jean had forgotten he was there _again_.

It had just been so easy to get lost in what Nina was saying. 

"How long do you plan to stay?" Jean asked. "Now that... I mean, the goose has done its job. You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like, but I -- I don't want to keep you. From your family. Not that I don't want--"

She made herself stop talking.

"Umm, I don't know how long I'll stay." Nina toyed with her fork. "I honestly don't really know how to get back. He herded me. I didn't look where I was going."

Jean smiled. "Don't worry about that. I can help you."

Nina appeared confused for a second, but then apparently remembered she'd never asked after Jean's powers. It wasn't as obvious as talking to animals. A slow smile spread across her face that was both knowing and strangely seductive. "I bet you can."

A shiver ran up Jean's spine. It felt new and familiar all at the same time, like a puzzle piece deep inside fitting into place. If she hadn't believed in the power of the goose before (which she had, hence the running away), she did now.

She barely knew Nina. They hadn't kissed, or even touched, and yet she was certain. Soulmates.

Jean glanced down at the goose, who gave her the haughty look of knowing one was right. Or maybe she was projecting. Maybe the goose could read her thoughts, the way she could hear everyone else's. It seemed preposterous, a telepathic goose, but after everything she'd seen, all of her experience leading up to this point, and the smile on Nina's face as she gazed across the table, Jean was ready to believe anything.


End file.
